As he tells it, many of his public missives draw the response that he ought to spend all his time studying so he can maintain his eligibility to play point guard for the Sun Devils.

“I take offense to a lot of that,” he told Sporting News.

For more than a quarter century, since the NCAA was thrown headfirst into the business of establishing initial eligibility through the rule change that was known as “Prop 48,” athletes such as Carson have entered college basketball with a label. And it’s hard to shake. Becoming a star athlete isn’t going to change it. Becoming a college graduate might not. It always will be known that Carson did not compete as a freshman because he did not meet the NCAA’s minimum academic standards.

“A lot people don’t understand the NCAA rule,” Carson said. “They don’t understand the standards. And they don’t know me as a person. For them to ask me those types of questions, or make those type of statements ... it starts to offend me as I hear it more and more.

“But it’s a new year, a new day.”

It certainly is. Carson tweeted Tuesday about his joy in meeting with the press, if you can believe that: “Media day. Oooooooo how I've waited for you.” And he has. A year ago at this time, he was on his way to partial-qualifier status, which meant he could practice during the spring semester with the Sun Devils but could not play. They wound up compiling 128 more turnovers than assists and 11 more defeats than victories.

Carson is a terrific talent, listed at 5-10, 175 pounds. He is electrically quick and a leaper of such renowned that legend has it he dunked as a 13-year while standing only 5-3.

Whether he is special enough to transform ASU into a competitive entity in the Pacific-12 isn’t really the point, at least not today. The point today is he gets to try, which is something he has ached to attempt since the moment he learned he would not compete during the 2011-12 season.

It came as something of a shock to him and to those following his career. He spent several weeks in the summer of 2011 with the USA Basketball Under-19 squad. He was the only player to make the team without having played at the collegiate level. This did not correspond with a player furiously working to gain NCAA eligibility.

“It wasn’t on my radar at the time,” Carson said. “I was thinking USA Basketball was a good opportunity, and I wasn’t thinking at the time about being ineligible.”

Carson said he was admitted to ASU and several other schools with no problem, but he wound up fractionally short of qualifying on the NCAA’s sliding scale for freshman eligibility. He is not in favor of the guidelines as they are written now.

“I think that some of the standards they set high for these athletes to be able to qualify to play, I don’t want to say it’s absurd but it’s a little tough on kids,” Carson said. “In high school, you’re in school all day and then if you’re a student-athlete you have practice afterward. It’s kind of hard to get the amount of study time in to be a successful student.

“For some of the guys to whom school doesn’t come that easy to, the standard they have is such a high standard. If a kid receives Ds and Fs throughout his four years of high school, he definitely shouldn’t be able to play NCAA basketball. But if a kid is working hard, receiving average grades, I don’t think he should be penalized for that. But I can’t make the rules. I don’t want to disrespect the NCAA overall.”

Carson insists his time away from competition was not wasted. He went through college-level strength and conditioning training and has practiced with the Sun Devils for nearly a calendar year. He gained 15 pounds and said now instead of shying away from contact he can absorb it and still finish plays.

He still has not scored a basket in college nor passed for an assist but does not feel like a novice.

“I’ll be a little more advanced than some freshmen coming in,” Carson said. “I’ve had the weight room, I’ve had the coaching, I’ve had some exposure to the team. ... I think I’ve improved tremendously.

“I was able to adjust to the game, the fast pace. The college game is more up-tempo than the high school game. I was able to adjust to playing against bigger guys, how to get my shot up, how to get step-backs going. I definitely had to adjust my game. I had to learn how to work on my skills.”

Carson’s speed at the point is such that ASU coach Herb Sendek expects to alter the team’s playing style to a more up-tempo approach. The Sun Devils were 305th in Division I in points per game last season at 61 per game. Even with James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph in 2009, they averaged only 69.

“I haven’t been around many guys from end line to end line that have the burst he does. He can really accelerate,” Sendek told Sporting News. “We just haven’t had the kind of speed we do now. I would say offensively, I would be surprised if we don’t play as fast as anybody in our conference. He brings that to the table in a way we haven’t had previously.”

Carson was a star at Mesa High in Phoenix, a second-team Parade All-American who scored 58 points in a state semifinal game. So those who care about basketball at ASU have been waiting eagerly for him to suit up for the Sun Devils. Sendek worries they might be too eager. He wants Carson to develop at his own pace, whatever that turns out to be.

Carson wants to play, at last. And he wants to get his grade-point average, which was 2.8 after the spring semester, up to a 3.0, which officially would make him an ASU “Scholar Baller.”

Then, he said, “People won’t be able to talk any more about me being ineligible.”